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Matti Sirvio’s current exhibition When Words Get Tired is on view at the artist’s gallery is Muscat, Oman. With this collection of works, Sirvio expresses his observations of society and the larger, deeper messages that don’t sink in. With the increasing pace of life and technology has come the gradual loss of the weight of words, and in a world saturated with imagery, the weight of symbols and signifiers. “As the world seems to be spinning faster and faster, pictures have to fight for people’s attention. Yes, the modern culture is described as visual, but is it really?” Sirvio questions. “Very few people have any capacity to look at Rothko’s paintings. They have too much undefined room in them.”

Our digital devices leave us less and less space, pulling us away from contemplating present, undefined moments and into social media, ads, and images. Sirvio’s artwork does not bow to this cultural change. The artist continues to work from a removed, spiritual place. He calls these works the imprint of the Divine on his heart, “God’s handwriting on the walls of my private chambers.” His subtle dimensionality in color and shape remains strong, making statements both emotive and beyond this world. The theme of the exhibition is meditations on life and death, the before and after. “The Storm is Passing Over” depicts two planes, the higher one shades of the underbelly of a lightening cloud, the lower is thick. The grey-blue hues are solid and muddy. The image could be interpreted as the earth, solid and receiving, and the quality of movement above in the heavens. The meeting of eternal life and the form that ends in death, the before and after.

“Tired Words” is a fiery piece, like the orange tip of a flame exploding with golden hues. Darker elements bare a defiance. Is it the emotion of the words that still know their weight, the symbols with unmoving meaning? With eyes hovering above our phones, we scan written words and skip entire paragraphs. We scroll through images and bypass symbols in search of more. Like these dark shapes, they haven’t lost their meaning. We have lost our ability to receive it. When Words Get Tired invites you to rest your gaze and meet the work with your own emotions and experiences. The exhibition welcomes prolonged interaction as one searches for meaning.

Sirvio cites “Zeitgeist as being a moving piece in the particular collection of works for him. It touches on the country the he affectionately calls home: Oman. “The central piece of this show is a big painting called ‘Zeitgeist.’ It’s a reflection of my observations in Oman today. The country is seeking her identity sometimes from the unknown past, sometimes from the unpredictable future. There is a battle raging for people’s souls. The invisible powers are like a huge magnet pulling people to all directions.”

To view When Words Get Tired type Matti Sirvio Galleria into Google Maps. There you will find directions to the gallery space in the mountains of Al Amarat, Oman. The exhibition is on view until March 31st.